What is spent convictions legislation?

Every Australian state and territory has spent convictions legislation or information release policies that determine the disclosure of historical police information and criminal convictions on a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check result. When your check is lodged with the NPCS, the relevant state police force are responsible for administering the relevant legislation in line with information release policies. The legislation differs from state to state, so in terms of how far back a criminal history check will stretch, it depends on the nature of the conviction, and the state in which it occurred. 

If you would like more information regarding spent conviction legislation, please visit the below list of state sites:

• Commonwealth
• Australian Capital Territory
• New South Wales
• Northern Territory
• Queensland
• South Australia
• Tasmania
• Victoria Police
• Western Australia.

If your police check result contains a conviction that you believe should be spent, you are able to dispute the result by contacting us.